The Lost and the Lonely
by whitnayy1990
Summary: A retelling of Labyrinth with a "Beauty and the Beast" twist.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello all! I've never written a fanfic before, so I thought I would give it a shot. Growing up I was obsessed with Labyrinth and Beauty and the Beast, so I thought I would try and write a story combining two of my childhood favorites. This is just the prologue and I'm not sure how I feel about it, so please let me know what you think. Right now it's titled "The Lost and the Lonely", but that could possibly change as well.**

 **Although I wish otherwise, I do not own any of the characters that will be used in this story.**

The Lost and the Lonely

Prologue

Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young king lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the king was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.

But one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the king sneered at her gift, and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by outward appearances, for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The king tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell over the castle and his subjects, transforming them into grotesque, goblin-like creatures, mere shadows of their former selves.

"From now until the end of your days, you will be known as the Goblin King," the enchantress proclaimed. "You will be charged with watching over children who have been wished away from their homes to your lands, and facing any challenger who comes to retrieve those children. You will be granted powers to protect your new realm and your subjects. Regardless if you break this spell, your followers will be forever remain goblins to serve as a reminder that there is more to the eye than outward appearances."

Ashamed of his monstrous form and his mistakes, the best concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose. It would bloom until a challenger arrived who's courage and pureness of heart would make her his equal. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, then he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

The Goblin King used his new powers to create a vast labyrinth for challengers who came after the wished away children, and to protect his lands and his people. As the years passed, the king failed to find his equal amongst the challengers. Eventually, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?


	2. Update and Revamped Prologue

**A/N: Update! I apologize for the long delay in this story, life has been getting in the way, unfortuntely. If ya'll watch the news, I am from Charleston, South Carolina, where the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME took place. Needless to say, it has been an extremely crazy couple of weeks.  
**

 **As far as my story goes, I have decided to kind of revamp the prologue a bit, I added a bit more to it. I am currently working on the first chapter, and I hope to have it uploaded within the next day or so. Hope everyone is having a great night!**

 **Again, I sadly do not own any of these characters.**

The Lost and the Lonely

Prologue

Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young king lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the king was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to his kingdom, seeking shelter from the bitter cold. Everyone turned her away, until she knocked on the doors of the castle beyond the village. She offered a single rose as payment if he would bestow his generosity upon her.

Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the king sneered at her gift, and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by outward appearances, for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The king tried to apologize, but it was too late; for she had seen that there was no love in his heart.

As punishment, she transformed him into a creature that now only remains a legend, a thief of young children: the king of a goblin realm.

"From now on, you are condemned to be the servant of every person in the worlds above and below who call on you," the enchantress proclaimed. "You will be granted powers to protect your new realm and your subjects. Regardless if you break this spell, your followers will forever remain goblins to serve as a reminder that there is more to the eye than outward appearances."

Ashamed of his kingdom and his mistakes, the king concealed himself inside his castle, with his magic crystals and his duties as the Goblin King as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose. It would bloom for 300 years, until someone arrived who's courage and pureness of heart would make her his equal. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, then he would be doomed to remain the king of the goblins for all time.

The Goblin King used his new powers to create a vast labyrinth for challengers who came after the wished away children, and to protect his lands and his people.

As the years began to fly by, his cruel bitterness grew more and more, until he became nothing but a beast...a former shadow of his true self. Because of the curse placed upon him, the Goblin King never aged. 299 years had passed, and he feared he would never find someone to break the spell. For who could ever truly learn to love a beast?


End file.
